Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa ClausVirginia O’Hanlon, 8, wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies and other editorials, and on posters and stamps. We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication bel...

Police: Man in elf costume charged with DWIRIVERDALE, N.J. — Police said an elf on the sauce is facing drunk driving charges in New Jersey. Riverdale police reported Brian Chellis, 23, was found passed out in a car early Friday morning wearing an Elf on the Shelf costume. Lt. James Macintosh said the Cedar Grove man was asleep behind the wheel of a van with its engine running, lights on and music blaring. He says Chellis was in a red shirt, red pants, and white ruffled collar. Macintos...

Ring them bellsChristmas is my wife’s favorite holiday and each year she goes out of her way to make it special for us. But something strange happened this year. As I write this it is five days out from Christmas. It feels like Dec. 1 was just a few days ago. The holiday is upon us, and I feel like I haven’t had any time to cultivate that good old holiday spirit. I sent my boss, Sean Ingram, a grumpy cat photo that read, “It’s beginning to look at lot like ....

Man bounces checks for $58K in stampsPerhaps Javorick Alexander Moore has a really long Christmas card list. Or a lot of pen pals. The Greensboro, North Carolina, man was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for bank fraud after writing more than $58,000 in bad checks for postage stamps. Documents filed in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, stated Moore, 40, opened a checking account and deposited about $5,000 before visiting several post offices in Virginia and North Carol...

I'm half-and-halfI took an online quiz recently that was meant to determine whether you think more like a man or like a woman. I never take those quizzes, but for some reason I decided to take this one. It asked a series of questions like: • What is the best way to accomplish your goals? With choices like: A “strong will”, or “Luck” being among the available choices. I plugged in the answers as manly as I could, but I was emasculated by my results. I’m like ha...

Workers free inmate's arm from toiletA Pennsylvania prisoner is free — relatively speaking — after spending part of the weekend with his arm stuck in a toilet. The News Item in Shamokin reported maintenance and emergency teams at the State Correctional Institution-Coal Township worked for several hours and wound up removing the toilet from its moorings to free the trapped limb. They said the prisoner’s arm became stuck Sunday morning when he reached into the toilet to fetch an it...

A Charlie Brown commercialI don’t know if you noticed, but the “Charlie Brown Christmas” special that ran on ABC recently — the same one that’s been running for decades — was trimmed down to make room for more commercials. Standard ABC programming calls for 21.5 minutes of content and 8.5 minutes of commercials. And so a few scenes were shortened or removed altogether to squeeze in a few extra moments of holiday commercialism. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” s...

Strange collectionsHere’s a fact: One of the first items sold on E-bay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83 to someone who kept a broken laser pointer collection. I think the bigger question is, “Why collect broken laser pointers?” People will collect almost anything, it seems. For instance, I have an ever-growing collection of media passes hanging from my work desk. Others collect toys, cars, comic books, video games — just about anything you can think of. Her...

Man fled crash to avoid yelling girlfriendPolice in New Jersey said a man told officers he fled the scene of an auto accident because he “didn’t want to deal with his girlfriend yelling at him.” They said David Scarpa was having an argument with his girlfriend Sunday night when he backed into a utility pole in Cumberland County. The caller who reported the hit-and-run said he heard people “yelling” and then heard a bang and saw debris on the ground by the pole. Police said Scarpa, 21,...

Man arrested in underwear theftsAlaska State Troopers said they detained a man suspected of stealing women’s underwear during burglaries in Kodiak. An 18-year-old was taken into custody Monday. Online court records early Tuesday didn’t indicate he had been formally charged. Troopers said the burglaries occurred over three months. Residents would return home to find items — mostly women’s underwear — missing. They had been alerted to keep their doors locked. The agency said t...

A thank you to local athletesI have to brag on some people from time to time. As the assistant sports editors and primary sports reporter for this newspaper, I get to meet a lot of coaches and players and many of them deserve praise for things they do off the field or court. Here’s my attempt to say thank you to a few of them. Andy Campbell Campbell is a basketball player and a baseball player for the Russellville Cyclones. I attended his recent signing with Southwest Bap...

Rancher's dog hitches ride on ambulanceA dog named Buddy didn’t wait for an invitation when his owner had to go to the hospital. Four-year-old Buddy hitched a ride on the outside of the ambulance carrying Texas rancher J.R. Nicholson, 58, to Hill Country Memorial Hospital. Ranch hand Brian Wright said Friday he summoned the ambulance Oct. 26 when Nicholson felt dizzy. The San Angelo Standard-Times reported a motorist flagged down the ambulance and said a dog was on a side step. Bud...

Bad first date: Woman takes man's walletOregon police agree it was a bad first date. They said a 23-year-old man met a woman for the first time in person last Monday night after they talked online. She hopped into his vehicle at a drive-through restaurant in Wilsonville, south of Portland, and suggested he buy her a milkshake. Sgt. Dan Kraus said the man got two $1 bills in change and put them into his wallet, which he left on the center console. Kraus says the woman grabbed the wal...

Whipping TomYou think you’ve got it bad in our modern society filled with perils and dangers lurking around every corner? True, technology has afforded many new things to worry over. But it’s also made us more efficient at preventing and stopping criminals. Enter, Whipping Tom — the nickname given to two attackers in London and the nearby village of Hackney. Both would attack women who were walking by themselves. One was in 1681 and the other was in 1712....

Man’s dog helps police bust him on drug chargePolice in central Alabama said a man’s own dog helped officers bust him on a drug charge. Prattville Police spokeswoman Paula Barlow said the pooch named Bo followed his fleeing master, who was being pursued by officers. When the dog stopped and wagged his tail in tall grass, she said, officers found and arrested Edwin Henderson. Barlow said the chase began when two drug officers arrived Wednesday with a search warrant and Henderson took off r...

Drunk woman arrested, mistook jail for barOne is a building with bars. The other is a building with a bar. A very drunk woman apparently had trouble telling them apart and ended up in a southwestern Michigan jail cell. The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department said a 39-year-old woman mistook the Van Buren County jail for the bar where she was trying to pick up her boyfriend. The department said Deputy Robert Miersma spotted the Hartford-area woman backing into the jail parking lot in...

Carrots, oil and the undeadHere we are with some more weird facts from around the Internet. Buckle up, it’s about to get crazy. Or not. It’s a column. It’s about to get “kind of interesting,” but that’s all. • Baby carrots Did you ever wonder where baby carrots come from? I didn’t until I stumbled across an article online. Did you think they were carrot children, harvested too soon from this world to fill snack trays at corporate events and wedding receptions across the...

My only spooky storySince it’s almost Halloween, I am going to tell you my one-and-only ghost story. I can assure you that this happened and that it happened to me. That said, even after this experience, I’m not really convinced there are ghosts walking among us. My story started just after I moved out of my parent’s house. I was 18 at the time and I moved into an apartment complex in Russellville. I chose one that overlooked a then-undeveloped area so that I cou...

Man accused of stealing plumbingST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police said they’ve flushed out a man accused of stealing the handles and pipes of toilets in parks and restaurant restrooms around a Florida city. St. Petersburg police said Friday they arrested a 28-year-old homeless man. He is accused of stealing the plumbing from Cracker Barrel, Burger King, Bob Evans and other restaurants. Police released a photo of a pile of metal toilet parts that they say Brian Rinda stole. Polic...

Man pays newspaper years after theftsSome 54 years after stealing several newspaper racks, a U.S. Navy veteran has sent a letter of apology and a check for $200 to The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida. Bernard Schermerhorn said he’s followed the rules for most of his 73 years, but caved to peer pressure as a teenager and went along with a friend’s scheme to steal several racks from The Ledger. In a Sept. 30 letter to the newspaper, Schermerhorn said they took a handful of change and t...